Fragments of Time
by Mishisama
Summary: As the gang struggles with the problems in their personal lives, Naraku returns to remind them how precious every moment together truly is. The final battle is at hand will they be able to survive their inner conflicts in time to prevail against Naraku?
1. Tomorrow's Beginning

_Fragments of Time_

_By Mishi_

Chapter 1

Tomorrow's Beginning

Sonchou-sama The village head.

Waka-sama The son of the village head, or the heir.

Chichi the name that you would us when taking about your father.

Ji-chanused when you are taking about your grandfather.

Ku, ku, ku… This is the typical bad guy laugh in manga. You will also see gu, gu, gu. They are both about the same.

Note: **Spoiler** I make mention to Naraku discarding his youkai bits that are of no use. Well, in the series Kagura does see this once. It is the one time during which Naraku is vulnerable, like when Inuyasha loses his youki on the night of the new moon. Well when this happened in that ep, Kagura goes and offers a jewel shard to Sesshoumaru in hopes that he will kill Naraku for her. Of course, Sess tells her that it is her problem and that she needs to deal with it on her own.

Thanks to Wudelfin for editing this story.

**Now on to the story…**

Miroku and Sango sat quietly as Shido poured the tea in to cups before them. The sun hadn't been up long, but the rest of the household were already out in the rice field or tending to the tiny garden outside.

Miroku took a sip of the tea that had been offered to him before trying to speak. Nodding he said, "Arigatou, Shido-san."

"Hai, Arigatou," Sango fallowed up.

"You said that you wanted to talk about Nishi?" Shido asked, before blowing at his tea to cool it down.

"Nishi tells us that you are waiting for a marriage proposal from Shippo. Do you think that is best for her?" Miroku questioned.

"She seems to be convinced that it is. She has already announced that she won't marry Waka-sama."

Miroku reflected on this before continuing, "I'm sure that had to cause quite a stir for everyone. I wonder if you might not be going too easy on her. What she is asking is very selfish, considering what it would mean for her family. I'm sure that family honor, as well as your status has been carefully considered in this matter?"

"It's true that the family would be hurt a great deal if this marriage doesn't take place. For all we know Sonchou-sama could make us leave the village," Shido shook his head and continued, "I don't know what this will do to us, or to Nishi."

Miroku took another sip of the tea, and said, "Shido-san, may I suggest that you keep the engagement open? I don't think that Shippo is ready for marriage, and I don't wish to fight anyone over this. Sonchou-sama has been good to us all. And I know that I speak for Shippo, and the rest of our group, when I say that we don't wish to be driven from the village." Miroku sat his tea down and looked Shido in the eye. "Nishi's behavior not only threatens your family, it's a threat to us as well. I don't think that you can handle this sort of disgrace, and we aren't willing to give up our home. Nishi might not agree, but I think that it would be best for Nishi to marry Waka-sama."

"Will the kitsune stay away from her?" Shido asked suspiciously.

"I don't think that Shippo will be the problem," Miroku replied. "I get the impression that Nishi is the one doing most of the pursuing."

Shido thought about this for a moment, and admitted, "Nishi has always been fascinated by kitsune. Chichi used to tell stories about them. He even swore that he had kitsune blood in him. I wasn't much help, I always told stories too. She just seemed to get such a kick out of the stories that I couldn't help telling them to her."

"Could you tell use one of the legends?" Sango spoke up. "It might help us figure out why Nishi is so taken with kitsune."

"There are a few that Chichi told. He said that his mother was a kitsune, who brought wealth to Ji-chan with her power of illusion. He had come across her while sleeping and took her for his bride. She would trick merchants out of fine clothes for her husband. They would travel from village to village under the disguise of nobles, and stay with the wealthiest of families. Sometime after Chichi was born, she disappeared. Ji-chan was left with nothing but his fancy clothes and an infant son. What wealth he had was used to bring us here." Shido sipped his tea before going on, "Ji-chan kept Chichi's origins secret, telling everyone that his wife died from illness during the winter. Only Chichi was told the truth about his mother, the truth of which was passed down to me."

"Perhaps Nishi thinks that Shippo could do the same thing for her. Shido-san, you said that they traveled from place to place, and Nishi does seem to want out of this village."

"I guess it could be possible," Shido replied, rubbing his chin. "She has never taken well to common housework, or to tending the fields."

"Marrying Waka-sama would get her out of the work, but would keep her here and in modest means." Sango added.

"Perhaps I have spoiled her and her bother, Gigen. They are both very willful, and have never gotten along. If nothing else, I am sure that she would want to be away from her bother."

"We are grateful that you agree with us on this matter," Miroku commented, finishing his tea. "We will return to the group and tell them what we have decided. Nishi will be back in your home by sunset tonight."

With nothing more to say, Miroku and Sango bowed and stood, leaving Shido alone with his thoughts.

The sun was shining brightly overhead as a warm breeze blew threw Sesshoumaru's hair. The countryside was laid out before him like a sun-drenched carpet of green. There were no trees to block the view for miles ahead of him, and the mountains were still hours way. This open space was a blessing compared to the cage that he had just escaped from.

Rin and Jaken were also peaceful. Jaken seemed to be content to follow behind Sesshoumaru with Aun's reins in this hand. Rin was sitting sidesaddle atop of the dragon, which felt odd to her, but it was the only way she could sit with the new kimono.

Lastly, there was Runa; bringing up the rear. This was a position that she wasn't enjoying. _'To think, I'm following a human. I should be beside Sesshoumaru, not stuck behind the brat and the midget.'_

After a few moments of trying to split Rin's head with her mind, Runa decided to pick up her pace and take what she thought to be her proper place, which was on Sesshoumaru's arm.

Sesshoumaru didn't bother to turn to look at Runa, but simply kept walking. He was content to ignore her and leave it be. However, Rin had more than noticed how Runa had draped herself over his arm. Sitting up a little straighter in the saddle, Rin kept her eyes glued to Sesshoumaru. She was curious to see what his reaction would be to Runa's affections.

"Ah, come on Sesshoumaru, you know that you like having me here. What will it take to get you to lighten up?" Runa asked rubbing her body against his arm.

"The only thing that you make me feel is disgusted," Sesshoumaru stated in a flat voice.

"You don't fool me, I know that you want this body. I can feel your body reacting to mine. You always did hold back until you couldn't stand it anymore; always so proper, and afraid to get your hands dirty. Well, I know what you like, and I'm willing to give it to you."

She forced him to stop, and pulling at his arm until his ear was close to her mouth, she pushed her body into his. Having him right were she wanted him, she purred warm words into his ear, "How long has it been since you've bedded a female? Days? Months? Or has it been years? Everyone has needs Sesshoumaru, let me help you with yours."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. He was suddenly torn between both lust and repulsion. He had been attracted to Runa in the past, and knew that sex with her could be very enjoyable, but he also hated himself for giving into such loathsome acts. Mercifully, Rin, appeared at his side tugging at his empty sleeve. Recovering from his inner conflict, Sesshoumaru dismissed Runa and gave Rin is full attention.

"Runa, I believe that you are in Rin's place…!" He said without turning his gaze away from Rin; a slight smile showing on his lips at Runa's expense.

Runa let go of him and stepped back, allowing Rin to Sesshoumaru's hand.

"Is that better Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked with a smile, realizing that she had won another small victory as she noticed how relaxed Sesshoumaru's hand was in hers.

"Yes," was all he said as he returned to the road ahead.

"Fine, if she isn't going to ride the dragon, then I'll take her place on it." Runa barked, not even trying to cover for her wounded pride.

"The dragon is Rin's. You will ask her before you touch the beast." Sesshoumaru ordered, fueling Runa's rage.

Rin turned to see Runa, who was staring at her as though daggers could project from her eye sockets. Ignoring the look the best that she could, she gave her attention to the dragon in question. "Aun?" Rin questioned the dragon for its opinion on the matter.

The dragons snorted in reply, and bobbed their heads up and down.

Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru, and translated, "They are ok with it, but she better be nice to them."

"When Rin is ready for the dragon, you will give her no argument…" Sesshoumaru instructed without looking back.

To this Rin flashed a friendly smile at Runa, who returned the smile with one of the evilest smirks that she could muster.

Kagura walked slowly through the dimly lit tunnel; she wished that they still had the castle to hide in, instead of this maze of winding tunnels and caves, but who was she to argue with Naraku? As long as he still had her heart, she couldn't afford to argue over their choice in refuge.

"Hey Kanna, what does he want with me anyway?" She asked the small, white haired youkai in front of her.

"He has a task for you," she stated plainly.

It had only taken moments for them to reach a large cavern, which was covered with bits and pieces of youkai and some foul smelling black ooze. Kagura had seen this once before, but she still found it disturbing. These times when Naraku would split apart and discard useless parts of himself were frightening to her. It always made her wonder if he might decide to absorb her back into himself and be done with her.

"Ku ku ku…do I repulse you, Kagura?"

What could she say; he would know that she was lying if she said no. "This isn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen," she settled for.

"Don't worry Kagura, I'll be quick. I want you to watch Kouga. It is time to take from him what should have been taken long ago."

"You don't want me to fight…just watch?"

"I have plans for him, so keep him close to you. He is still looking for a castle, and your sent will keep him looking."

As Naraku finished his order, a bit of the black blob touched Kagura's feet; she was startled and tried to back way.

"The last time I was like this you tried to run away, didn't you, Kagura? Remember how I punished you? I might be in pieces at the moment, but I can still see you. Remember you are trying to regain my trust."

A vision of offering a jewel shard to Sesshoumaru flashed through her mind. '_At least he doesn't know that I was trying to get Sesshoumaru to destroy him. I would be dead if he knew that,'_ she thought as she struggled to keep her composure.

The black ooze was drawing back from her foot as he told her to go. What sweet relief that was. There was nothing that could've pleased her more at that moment than to be away from him.

When Kagura was gone from sight, Naraku turned his attention to Kanna. "Show me where she is," he ordered her.

Magically, Kikyou appeared in the tiny mirror that rested in Kanna's hands. Kikyou was tending to herbs in a garden with children at her side.

"How sweet, enjoying your new life Kikyou?" Naraku said with an edge of contempt in his words.

Something stirred within him as he watched her in the mirror. It was something he had been struggling against for days now-the need to see her. _'Wanting out again aren't you Onigumo? You can't seem to forget that woman. Well, you will have your chance with her soon enough. And I will be rid of you both. Ku, ku, ku…'_


	2. The Other Me

Chapter 2

The Other Me

Kagome lay on her back with her eyes closed. Her hands were folded and motionless against her chest as she focused on the world around her. The sound of the gentle moving water from the river sung to her like a mother singing a lullaby. The air was warm and soft as it ran over her body.

Karen was beside Kagome patiently moving her along with soothing words, "Let your body feel the wind as if it could float on the breeze, and then you will be able to reach out to the world around you with your power. Don't fight; your power will know where it needs to go."

"Karen, are you sure that I'm strong enough to do this?" Kagome asked in a dreamy voice.

"Yes, my dear, it is merely your doubt that is holding you back from being the miko that you were born to be," Karen assured her. "The land will tell you what you need to know. It will call out to you when it needs to be healed."

Kagome, despite her doubt, did as Karen asked; pushing her power out as far as it would go. She tried to look for a message of pain from anywhere she could find it; what she found was Kikyou.

Kikyou was kneeling in the garden as a wave of energy washed over her, causing her to stand and search the trees that lay several yards before her.

Kagome's eyes snapped open, "Kikyou…!"

"This surprises you? You are one in the same," Karen reasoned.

Kagome sat up, staring in to Karen's eyes with disbelief. "I am not Kikyou."

"No, my dear, you are not, but her soul is a part of yours. Did you not have your soul taken from you in order to give Kikyou's clay body a soul?"

"Is there anything that you don't know about?"

"Not really. I make it a point to know many things," Karen smiled. "What did you feel when your power touched Kikyou?"

"Anger, sadness…I don't know if I can put it all into words."

"She carries the bit of your soul that has unfinished business with Inuyasha. When you think about their past together, wouldn't you feel sorrow as well?"

"I guess that I would. I can't forgive Naraku for what he has done to Inuyasha. I guess that I keep forgetting that Kikyou was betrayed too," Kagome turned away from Karen and looked towards the river. "I got the love and she got the anger, is that how it turned out?"

"In simple terms…perhaps. However, I believe that she also loves Inuyasha."

"I think that I knew that once. I mean that Kikyou loved Inuyasha, but I feel different now. It's because I'm taking on so much of Inuyasha's anger isn't it?"

"You are surrounded with a great deal of anger because of the youki that your carry," Karen answered, taking Kagome's hand. "This is the reason I am teaching you to reach out and heal the land. When you can feel the land, and are attuned to it, you will be able to transfer your energy to it. You cannot start out with the living, because humans are too complex; you must work on healing simpler things first."

"Why do you have so much confidence in me? You act like a mother to me."

It was so difficult for Karen to hold back her emotion in that moment. She would have given anything to tell Kagome the truth. It was growing more and more difficult every day. Fighting back the desire to bring her granddaughter closer to herself, Karen answered, "I care for Inuyasha, therefore, I care for you."

With herbs in hand, Kikyou accompanied the children to a small hut, which the village head had offered her to use for her stay. As she walked questions about the energy that had touched her played on her mind. _'Why would she be reaching out to me? Is she trying to take back my soul?'_ She wandered as the children danced around her.

"Kikyou-sama, will these herbs help lots of people?" a little girl in a red kimono asked, while tugging at Kikyou's sleeve.

"Yes, Aki, they will help many of the villagers. That's why is so important for us to tend the garden every day," she answered as she smiled down at the girl.

Reaching the hut, she asked the children to place the herbs in several piles, and bid them farewell. Her mind was quickly coming to the conclusion that she would go to investigate Kagome's new ability to reach out to her. But first she would start the drying process for the herbs. _'With luck,'_ she thought, _'I'll be back before they are ready to be ground.'_

Once again Karen found herself explaining the importance of this task at hand to a very tired Kagome. "Please understand the need of these lessons, my dear. You must learn to channel the youki from yourself to something else after you change it to positive energy. Your human body was not meant to carry such a thing as this. Inuyasha can only deal with the weight of his youkai blood because of Tessaiga. Such power can drive a human to madness," she paused and taking a rock in her hand continued on, "You should be able to purify the youki that you receive from Inuyasha, and then place that positive energy into this rock. Upon doing this you will have healed the rock and made it stranger; all things near it would flourish because of that purified power."

Karen returned the rock to its resting place and waited for Kagome to reply. The smile on her face was encouraging. Despite all doubt, Kagome was trying her hardest insure that Karen's faith wasn't in vain. However, Kagome knew how long it had taken her perfect using her purification arrows. Seeing the shards and purifying them might have come easily, but being a true miko wasn't as easy of a task.

'_Can I really do this,'_ Kagome wondered. _'I don't want to let Karen down, but what if I can't?'_ Kagome took a deep breath and tried to relax, but it was not use; how could she relax after reaching out to Kikyou? _'What if Kikyou comes looking for me now? Will she try to take Inuyasha way again?'_ She tried to shake the thought of to know avail.

Karen could feel the confusion growing in Kagome, and her heart was aching for the young women. This wasn't what she wanted for her granddaughter. She wanted so badly to make all this pain go way. Kagome wasn't like Sesshoumaru or Yumeko, she was a tender child. It wasn't natural for Kagome to be filed with such anger and confusion. More than anything, Karen wanted to be the parent to Kagome that she wasn't allowed to be to her other children-Kagome would accept her love. Instead, Karen had to hold it all in as her granddaughter fought her fears alone.

And still there were other reasons for Karen to tell Kagome the truth, it would prove to Kagome that she is more powerful than she realizes. Knowing that she is part Yasha could be enough to help her trust in her own power. As Karen reasoned it, "A human can only think and act as a human does, but a youkai knows that they are more than what the world can see; when youkai blood is in your veins, you have a reason to think and act beyond what is human." Karen believed that just having the knowledge that Kagome was not completely human would help her to look past her preconceived limits, and help her to tap into the power that was waiting to be called from inside her.

However, things were at a stand still, and Karen could see that Kagome was hitting some self-imposed limit. With the afternoon quickly approaching, Karen decided that Kagome has had enough for the day.

"Kagome, you may stop now. Perhaps we are pushing to hard. Rest now and we will try again later," Karen said as she reached for Kagome's arm and touched it gently.

"I'm sorry, Karen, I really am trying." Kagome sat up and started brushing her self off.

"I know that you are. I do appreciate your efforts, and you are doing very well…"

"But I'm still not doing as well as I should be doing, am I?"

"You are holding yourself back. I believe that we should work at controlling the anger which you have inherited from Inuyasha's youki."

"To be honest, I don't think that is the problem. I'm actually worried about Kikyou. What if she comes back and tries to come between me and Inuyasha?"

"I understand your fear of her, but you must trust in yourself; and your relationship with Inuyasha. I do not believer that Kikyou will separate you that easily." Karen paused to and looked towards the river. "I do think that your emotional ties to Inuyasha are amplifying your fear. I can show you how to control the flow of emotion it you wish it."

Kagome thought for a moment; to feel her own emotions without the weight of Inuyasha's would be wonderful. The idea of feeling for just herself would be such a relief.

"Ok, I want to do it. Show me how to control the emotional bond that we share."


End file.
